The Corner Office
by Beth Pryor
Summary: Stolen scenes between Auggie and Joan in early Season 2 as opportunities and information unfold for and about both of them.  Set in episodes 2x02, 2x04 and 2x05.  Now complete.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: The Corner Office or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Job**

**Author:** Beth Pryor

**Rating:** T

**Summary:** This scene immediately follows Joan and Auggie's conversation at the end of Season 2 Episode 2 "Good Advices" and explores the relationship between the two characters before the knowledge of Season 2 episodes 3 and 4. Originally planned as a one-shot, but may be extended given the events of Episode 4.

**Disclaimer:** Covert Affairs and its characters belong to the USA Network.

**A/N:** I've enjoyed the stories in this fandom for a while now and finally had/took the time to write one.

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><p><strong>The Corner Office or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Job<strong>

**Chapter 1: Hook  
><strong>

"It's not easy, is it? Making decisions that affect your friends' safety." She lingered on the s a second, but Auggie wasn't sure if the emphasis was supposed to be on friends or safety. Either way. He got it.

"No. It's not."

"I've got news for you. It doesn't get any easier." She didn't even slip the photograph back inside the envelope before she stood.

Auggie listened to her heels clip as she turned to walk out of the concourse and back into the DPD's main room. He sat there a moment longer. Annie's voice, not panicked but resolute and determined in the face of crisis, played over and again in his head. She'd done a good job today. A really good job. Like she always did. But damned if Joan hadn't cut right to the point. Like _she_ always did.

He stood now, turning to follow Joan, and found her behind her desk flipping through the report that he'd completed just before she'd found him.

"This was good work, Auggie," she said, still looking down at the papers as he found his way to a chair. "Not that I'm surprised, but I am sorry I missed it." She was looking up at him now and he could tell that she had broken into a little smile.

"Well, I told you to avoid the OJ trial." He tried to make his voice sound light, like today had been just another day with just another round of useless intel and routine paperwork.

She dropped the papers back into their folder, straightened them and placed them in her desk. He heard the lock engage.

"I can look over these tomorrow. I'm sure things are fine, and the Paris station now finally has something to go on. You're all finished here, right? Why don't we call it a day?" She stood and came around the desk stopping by his chair.

He stood quickly. "Yeah, sorry. I'm done. I'll see if there's a driver still here. I can call from my desk." He backed toward the door a step. Joan placed her hand on his forearm to stop and steady him.

"I can give you a ride if you'd like. I'm not in a hurry." She removed her hand.

Auggie nodded. "Sure. That would be okay."

"Good." She sounded satisfied. "I'll give you a minute to get your things."

He nodded and turned, suddenly a bit disoriented before he remembered the laser cane in his hand and the fact that he'd long ago memorized the floor plan of the DPD headquarters. He headed to his desk, stowed the laser in favor of the old fashioned white cane and slipped his bag over his shoulder. Joan knocked on the glass of the open door just as he secured his own desk.

"Ready?"

He was. He took her arm and they made their way to the lobby and then to Joan's car, which was waiting for them at the front of the building.

"Nice parking spot," Auggie muttered as he slid into the passenger seat.

"I was only going to be here for a few minutes. They didn't make me go all the way down to my real space." She backed out and drove them through the gate but waited until they were well onto the highway before she spoke again. "You didn't want to go out with Jai and Annie?"

He shook his head. "Just wasn't feeling it tonight."

"Hmm."

Joan didn't say any more but instead kept driving. After her next turn, Auggie's brow furrowed. He turned toward her again. "Where are we going?"

"Are you hungry?"

"Not really," He answered.

"Well, I am. I missed lunch and dinner, and Arthur's in New York until the day after tomorrow, and you're riding with me, so you'll just have to go along with it."

"There are places to eat in Georgetown. Why are we going to Arlington? That's the way we're going isn't it?"

Joan turned the car again, left this time. "Yes. It's 10:30 pm and we're going to Arlington. You have anything better to do?"

Auggie shook his head. "Drive on."

After 15 more minutes in silence, Joan pulled the car into a parking space and turned off the ignition. "Ok. We're here."

"Where's here?" Auggie inquired as he cautiously opened his door. Joan was quickly at his side to guide him inside.

"A diner on Columbia Pike."

"Bob and Edith's?"

"Yeah. You know the place?"

Auggie laughed a little. "Sure. I've been here a couple of times. Gutierrez couldn't stand to eat in the clubhouse. He always said he felt like they were going to ask him to bus the tables." Joan didn't immediately answer, so he explained. "The Army Navy Country Club is about two blocks that way," he pointed. "At least I think it's that way."

They continued through the door and Joan directed them to a booth in the corner. A waitress asked for their drink orders as she handed over two laminated menus. Joan asked for decaf and a glass of water. Auggie decided on orange juice. As she left with their orders and in search of a Braille menu, Joan returned to their last conversation thread.

"I forgot you golfed, and I'm sure I didn't know you were a member there. Arthur should have invited you to play. Were you any good?"

Auggie smiled at her. "Not bad, I guess. I was a 6 handicap. Now I'm just handicapped," he finished with a chortle and a shake of his head.

"That's terrible, Auggie," Joan asserted, finding herself also laughing at the bad joke. "Some people would find that very distasteful."

"But not us," he pointed out. "We specialize in the stuff that others don't want to do or talk about or even admit exists."

Joan reached forward and placed her hand on his fist, opening and closing in front of her on the Formica tabletop. She didn't have anything to say. This time, he was right.

"At least Annie's safe," he finally exhaled. "I don't know how you do that Joan, being such a critical part of the action without being able to control anything that's happening." He shook his head again.

Joan pulled her hand back as the waitress arrived with their drinks and Auggie's menu. He thanked her but ordered a BLT without looking at it. Joan chose an omelet.

Auggie started again when she was gone. "It was like that cartoon with the angel and the devil on my shoulder today. Only it was Jai versus what I thought you would do."

"And you went with?"

"Jai, obviously. There's no way you would have let Annie go to the train station much less try to rescue Eyal."

"Hmm. You think?" He heard Joan ripping her napkin into long strands.

"What's that supposed to mean? Of course you wouldn't have. You wouldn't have let _me_ do that."

"And I'm sure you would have headed straight to Charles De Gaulle with no regard for your fellow operative. Or for the opportunity to grab a great piece of intel or to meet a possible asset?"

"You would have gone, too."

"Of course I would have. And so would you. And so would Annie."

Auggie nodded. Joan was absolutely correct. It's what a good field operative had to be able to do. "It doesn't make it any easier to be the guy on the other end of the phone, though."

"No. It doesn't." Joan took a long pause and then sighed, her voice catching slightly. "And the closer you are, the harder it gets." Auggie heard her fingernails tapping the table top.

He reached across to silence them. "Shit, Joan. No. We're not doing this. I told you a long time ago."

"I know." She sounded more composed now. "But …"

"No buts. I _volunteered_ to go. You had nothing to do with it." He breathed deeply. "Nothing to do with where I went or what we had to do and you certainly did not have my dumb ass get out of the truck to look at that fucking dog." His fist clenched and released again.

"No," she whispered, "I didn't. But I could have stopped you from going."

"I had to go."

"I could have helped out with Natasha."

He shook his head. "Couldn't have been helped. Even without the secrets and mandates, it wouldn't have worked. Besides, you've done everything in your power to get me back into the swing of things. I like my job. I'm good at it. What more could I ask for from you? From all this?"

"Arthur's in trouble," she almost blurted. She didn't have clearance to read him in, but she had to explain.

"I know he is." Auggie struggled with his own knowledge of the Liza Hearn situation but pushed on. "But it will blow over. This stuff always does. Besides, he doesn't have the skeletons in his closet that Henry Wilcox has." For Joan's sake, he prayed this was true.

"It's serious, Auggie, and I don't know if he'll make it out of this one."

"With his job, you mean."

Joan nodded. "Yes. Someone has it in for him. Someone at the top or at least with top-level information."

Auggie knew for a fact that was true. Arthur himself had confirmed it with the false info they'd fed Liza. "Ok, and if that happens, what does it mean?" Before she could answer, realization spread across his face. "They've already asked you."

"You know I can't comment on that, but what I'm saying is there could be changes within the DPD."

As she spoke, the pieces of the puzzle fell in place in front of him. "And the new boss may not feel so kindly about the friendly neighborhood blind guy in Tech Ops."

"That's not necessarily what I mean. You've more than proven your worth since you've been back. There's no way that anyone could deny that or deny you your current position."

Auggie squeezed his eyes closed and shook his head. "I'm not following you, Joan. So you're moving up and I can most likely keep my job. Is the new guy gonna be that bad?" She took another breath to answer when it finally hit him and he groaned. "Jai. Right. Why the hell not?"

"I don't know it for sure, Auggie, but it's my suspicion. He's done a good job of distancing himself from Arthur since he's been with the DPD. He'll most likely skate right through."

"And he does have that _amazing_ pedigree."

"I'm speculating, but the two of you are the most senior staff if the DCI chooses to stay in-house, and despite my best efforts …" she trailed off again.

"He'll let me play with the computer but not run a department. Got it."

"Not the DPD, no. I'm sorry, Auggie."

He let his head hang down for a moment before raising it to face her. "I appreciate that, Joan." He stopped then, not sure at first how to continue but slowly gathered momentum. "When I joined and in those first years out in the field, I thought that's what I'd always do, that they'd have to bring me back in a body bag or something. I'd thought I'd rather die than work in an office. And when I almost did, I thought there's no way anyone will let me come back. I just didn't see how it could happen, but it did. And I'm used to the way things are. I actually look forward to work again on most days. And if I never do more than what I'm doing now, it'll be okay. I'll support Annie and whoever else you or Jai or whatever director has out in the field. I can do that. I'll do that."

Joan was nodding as the waitress approached, setting two steaming plates in front of them. "I know you will, Aug."

"Are we done with all of this, now?"

Joan grinned and nodded, picking up her fork. "Yes. And I promise never to bring it up again."

"Good, because I can't handle hearing you talk about feelings. I prefer you breaking balls."

"Right. Good to know. Now eat your sandwich before I leave you here to find your own way home, although, the way the redhead across the room is looking at you right now, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have to stay here."

Auggie ran a hand through his hair and turned a bit in his seat. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Why don't I go wash my hands and give you two a minute?" She asked as she slid out of the booth.

"You're the best, Joan," he said as she stood. She chuckled, but he grabbed her hand as she walked by. "No really. The best."

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><p>TBC? Probably.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks so much for the reviews! Here's the next part of this one. As always, I'd love to hear your input.

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><p>Chapter 2 – Line<p>

"Are you going to tell me what that was all about?" Joan asked as she carefully massaged La Mer night cream into her face.

Arthur had to hand it to her. She was a master of deception. She'd barely blinked when Geena had approached their table not an hour earlier.

"We've been in touch lately." He left it as vague as he thought he could get away with.

"Define lately." She asked as she examined her pores in the magnified mirror.

"A week, maybe 10 days."

"And in that period you found the time to meet with Gottfried and not tell me about it?"

"It wasn't an attempt to deliberately mislead you."

Joan scowled into the mirror, then widened her eyes as she softly dabbed at the emerging crow's feet. "And isn't that always the case."

Arthur understood this was a statement not a question. "I didn't want to worry you about this. You have your own job to do; you shouldn't have to think about mine."

"Mmm," she sighed into the mirror, brushing the strands of her eyebrow into place with her index finger. It was well established that they could keep secrets – from one another just as easily as from anyone else. It took its toll on their marriage, but they'd taken the appropriate steps. Well, steps anyway. Who knew if they were actually appropriate or sufficient. Arthur had gone to his ex-wife for advice and assistance instead of coming to her.

"Joanie," Arthur pleaded, his voice lilting with culpability. "I didn't…" He watched her reflection in the mirror as he walked up behind her. She gazed up at his image approaching her, gave a slight shake of her head and lowered her eyes to the vanity, reaching for a tube of hand cream. "I'm sorry."

She answered without pause. "I know you are, Arthur."

He exhaled a long sigh. "Can I at least try to explain?"

Before she shot him down, she thought about their last counseling session and counted to ten. "Sure." She stood up and walked back into the bedroom. She sank heavily onto the chaise and offered him the adjacent corner of the bed.

"First of all, nothing happened."

Joan rolled her eyes.

"I mean, she called me and said we needed to talk about what she was hearing on the Hill. I wasn't even sure if I was going to meet with her, but things aren't good. You know this. You're the one who brought in Chet Laguardi, for Christ's sake!" His voice escalated in volume as he continued but realized and exhaled a deep cleansing breath.

"The DCI has been tapped. For Defense. We've made him look good – and by we I specifically mean you and me. His confirmation will be a formality, and General Pauley will replace him later this year."

"Who will take command in Afghanistan?"

"That's beyond my pay grade," he said as her rubbed the bridge of his nose. She'd known him long enough to know all his tells, plus she was an exceptional operative.

"Are you going to tell me the rest?" She didn't have any right to ask, and he didn't have any obligation to read her in.

"I have to make a move. I have to assume that they'll tear me apart. They pulled the plug on Tanzania; I'm sure that Stockholm is next." Joan's brow furrowed. "And I'm guessing Jai's already made his case for advancement."

Joan shrugged. "I thought he was ready to be a team player."

"Henry Wilcox's DNA doesn't lend itself to team play," Arthur pointed out with a grim set of his jaw.

"He's made threats, idle ones I think, but I expect him to explore his options elsewhere."

Arthur lifted his hands, palms turned toward the ceiling. "There's nothing I can do about that now. The DCI agrees that we can't take the chance with him."

"A chance with him where?"

Arthur realized he was caught. "Charlie's going Green Badge."

"OCA. Wow. Someone's moving up in the world." She re-crossed her legs. "To the Seventh Floor, anyway."

"We haven't made the approach yet." He pleaded with her to understand why he couldn't lay it all out for her just now.

"I understand, Arthur. All I ask for is the transparency you can give. I'll try to afford you the same."

"As soon as I can, Joanie. As soon as I can."

* * *

><p>Two weeks later, Joan had just gotten the call that Annie and her Italian friend had run into trouble in Argentina when Arthur phoned her.<p>

"If you can spare Auggie for a few minutes today, I'd like to speak with him," he informed her.

She covered the receiver and exhaled deeply before answering, forcing brightness into her voice. "Sure. He's working on something for me in the conference room right now, but he should be free within the hour."

"Whenever is fine. I'll keep things clear for him. Everything okay down there?"

"Oh, you know. I'll let you know if I need assistance with anything."

"Ah, one of those days. Well, good luck, and I _am _here if you need me."

"Thanks. I'll send him up."

A little over 40 minutes later, Joan found herself at Jai's desk gathering more information about Raneri as Auggie entered the room. She struggled to keep her attention on Jai long enough to request a meeting with Genaro before crossing the room in an attempt to glean something from her operative.

"Auggie."

"Joan."

"Good meeting?"

"Interesting meeting." A pause, then he switched back to mission mode. "What can I do?"

Joan asked for confirmation of the jet's grounding in the Faulklands and confirmation of the hitman's identity as the both exited the DPD's main terminal for their own workspaces. When she entered Auggie's area a few minutes later, he spelled out the situation with the jet as Jai updated her on his progress in securing a meeting with Genaro. Jai's assessment of Helmut Drum, the contracted hitman in the field sobered the three of them. Without needing any further prompting from Joan, Jai returned to his desk and placed another call to the Italian Embassy – the seventh one that morning, but this time he was successful. And as a reward of sorts, Joan reported the results of the subsequent conference to him.

When he absorbed her intel about Genaro's probable involvement and passed along Annie's most recent roadblock – or demolition thereof – Joan stayed her course and set him to work on the extraction plan. He'd asked for more responsibility, and Joan was showing that she prepared to let him take it on.

By the time she arrived from her face-to-face, Jai and Auggie assured her that their plan was taking shape. She authorized the call to Annie. After they brought the younger woman up to speed on the precarious nature of her situation in Buenos Aires, Joan moved on to the next phase of the plan for Annie's safe return.

"Auggie's working on a possible exit," she assured the exasperated-sounding agent.

"Possible?" The pitch of Annie's voice rose slightly.

Auggie perceived this and jumped in quickly. "Highly probable though still in the formative stages, but I need you to get to the U.S. President's Line Terminal at the wharf."

Annie confirmed her understanding as Jai filled her in on the added information regarding the death of Raneri's OCU contacts.

"Keep your head down and get to the wharf. We'll get you out." Joan hoped the finality of her assertion would hold Annie over until they could get her out. She surveyed Auggie and Jai. In a perfect world, and in the not so distant past, she would have easily chosen either of these two for extraction leader. But there was no use in perseverating on that point. Things were what they were.

Turning back, she addressed Auggie first. "How formative are we talking here?"

"Uh, very formative, but I have an idea about moving things along," he enlightened.

"Do I want to know more about this?"

Auggie smiled. "Not yet, I don't think."

Joan nodded. "Okay. Keep me in the loop." She looked now to Jai. "We need to prove Genaro's involvement. Definitively. Jorge won't be able to help us with anything less."

"I'm on it." He left the room.

Joan lingered. "Are you sure I don't need to know anything else, Auggie."

"Want or need, Joan? That is the question."

She pondered for the slightest moment before conceding. "Will it help Annie?"

"I'm going to find out right now."

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><p>As much as Joan wanted to watch Genaro's interrogation, she also needed to see Auggie. Jai brushed by her as she entered the DPD without a word. A moment later, she found the other man quiet, almost reflective, at his desk. His headphones rested around his neck and he turned toward the sound of her heels.<p>

"Genaro all settled in?"

"Getting that way." She pulled the other chair in the room over beside him and sat. "I just ran into Jai – almost literally."

Auggie sighed. "Ah, that."

"So it's all done, then?"

Auggie blinked. "He didn't tell you." He sighed again. "I just assumed you knew."

He could hear the fabric of her sheath dress ruffle as she shrugged. "I knew there was an opening. And he offered it to you?"

"OCA? Yeah. He said he and the DCI wanted me in the position."

"And Jai thought…" she trailed off.

"Of course he did. Why wouldn't he? Arthur's been grooming him for years."

"But that doesn't help Arthur now, does it?" Joan feared she'd let him in a little too far.

"Et tu, Joan?"

She hadn't really meant to call his qualifications for the job into question, but given Arthur's previous discourse, she couldn't help but question her husband's motives. "You're not going to tell me that wasn't running through your mind?"

"Of course it was, right up until I made the trade to get Annie out. Then the reasons didn't matter."

Joan sat in silence for a long time. "When you were working on the extraction today, I kept thinking that if I could have sent you for her..."

This time Auggie shrugged, cutting her off. "That doesn't help anyone, thinking and wishing. Arthur gave me the ability to actually bring her home. Today. Without being in the field."

"Enough to be completely overt – to lose the opportunity to go back."

"Don't do this Joan. You're above it."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take anything away from your day."

He chuckled softly. "I actually did it because of you, though."

"Me?"

"Yeah. What you said to Jorge today about the 'deep impact on your relationship' if he harmed one of your people. Frankly, after that, I wasn't willing to hold the card to bring one of your operatives home safely and not put it in play. I was afraid of what that might do to our relationship."

She reached over and grazed his hand lightly with her own. "I think we'll be just fine."

"Right, but now I have to take the job."

"There is that."

"Joan," he started. They'd sort of discussed this, but not to necessary detail.

"Congratulations, Auggie. The promotion is well deserved." She averted any chance for them to really delve into the issue.

He tried again, a different route. "My replacement…"

"Will be a capable fill-in but hardly your replacement. You know you can't be replaced."

"But you…"

"I'm not ready to be overt." She seemingly read his mind. "Not even for DCS, which is Arthur's job. And it looks like it's going to stay that way." She patted his hand again and stood. "When do you start?"

"Next week."

"The Seventh Floor," she whispered. "You'll be great." She stood and left the room. Auggie pulled his headphones back onto his ears. Mingus flooded through him, and he hoped to God she was right.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Final chapter to my "behind closed doors" take on this story arc for Auggie and Joan. These two scenes take place during and after episode 2.05 "Around the Sun." Joan finds herself dealing with Arthur's investigation and aftermath while Auggie digests his refusal of his overt promotion.

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><p><strong>Chapter 3 – Sinker<strong>

Auggie was waiting for Joan when she came back into her office when she got back from questioning Will. It wasn't difficult to imagine the look of surprise on her face.

"Don't ask."

"You don't need to explain yourself to me." She took the chair beside him and waited.

He sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair. "I was there behind the curtain, and I knew if I walked out there, everything would change. Again." He paused. "Just couldn't do it."

"I think they call that explaining." She stood and retrieved a bottle of water for both of them. "What did Arthur say?"

Auggie took a drink and placed his bottle on the desk in front of him. "You sure you don't want to save it for pillow talk?"

Joan swallowed silently. "He's got a lot on his mind."

"Things not working out as expected?"

"Well, you were supposed to be the feel-good hit of the summer. Apparently now he's really going to have to rely on his own charms. That's a disturbing thought."

He shrugged. "I didn't mean to upset the apple cart."

"You know you're welcome back here. I can rearrange things."

"Reva did a good job, I hear."

Joan nodded. "She did. It will be noted as she moves on. They think highly of her in DST, and I got the impression she won't mind going back."

"Where's Annie?"

"Debriefing. Where's Jai?"

Auggie shook his head. "Not on the seventh floor."

"I see."

"How do you want me to handle things here?"

"I'll make some calls, but it's your show." She was already moving around the desk.

Auggie stood. "I should have thought it through, but it was the offer of a lifetime."

Joan stopped and reversed directions, coming back to lay her hand on his arm. "Auggie,"

"No, Joan. We've discussed it. This was my shot, and I didn't take it. I couldn't take it."

"Well, I've learned by now that when you've made up your mind about something, there's little chance that I'm going to change it."

Auggie cleared his throat. "Come on. Would you have walked out into all that light?"

"I don't know." She stood. "I have to meet up with Arthur. Reva's at her desk now, I think. I'll have her read you in." Joan moved toward the door.

Auggie stood to follow her. "Sure. Now's as good a time as any."

"We can talk later."

"No, it's fine. I'm fine." He realized he said that a lot.

* * *

><p>Hours later, the others were gone. He hadn't thought about a ride. It felt late. His fingers brushed the watch's face. It was. He pushed back his chair to stand. Underestimating his blood alcohol level, he stumbled forward, his left knee hitting what had been Annie's chair as his right hip caught the edge of the table.<p>

"Whoa, there Sailor," her arm took his and he steadied himself. "You'll need your land legs."

Despite his sorry state, or maybe because of it, a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth and he chuckled. "You don't sound like my regular car service. And you don't smell like a cab. And I was a Soldier, anyway."

Her hand traced a trail from his elbow to his palm. He took her in his and squeezed gently. "The service is a little more personal tonight."

"What are you doing here?"

"I thought you could use a ride."

"How did you know the others would be gone?"

"I knew you had more to drink about than they did tonight." Almost absently, his free hand reached for his glass. She moved it into his reach, and he finished the amber liquid. "Can I take you somewhere?"

He nodded toward their hands, still entwined. "You sure that's a good idea? I've been drinking. A lot."

It took all her self-control to keep her hand from brushing a stray lock of hair from his forehead. "Sure. Why not? I've given you rides before. Even on days like this before."

"There haven't really been days like this before, Joan." Auggie released her hand and shoved his in his pockets. "Did you need to talk or did you think I did?"

"Both, maybe. He called Geena."

Auggie nodded. "Ah, I see."

"No, I don't thik you do."

"Well, I don't. But I do." He reached beside him and found Annie's chair. As he sat, he motioned for her to take what had been his. "You think he should have kept it between the two of you."

"I guess it really doesn't matter now, because it's over."

Auggie's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"We met with Chet this evening. It's done. The committee won't call for hearings or further investigation. Arthur's in the clear. And while he needed saving, I was useful; now I'm less so."

"Me too." Auggie whispered as a relieved afterthought.

"And so I thought you might want a ride."

"Just a ride?"

"Just a ride." Joan's voice sounded slightly authoritative, almost normal for the first time all night.

He blew out a quick breath. "Good. Because anything other than that might get us both in trouble."

"I think we're past that Auggie, aren't we?" Her voice wavered again.

"Sometimes I don't know Joan." He sighed in exasperation, hoping honesty really was the best policy here.

Joan stood and placed her hand firmly on his shoulder. In that movement, she was back in control of herself and the situation. "I'll go home to my bed and you'll go home to yours and in the morning we'll start all over."

He nodded and stood beside her. "Right. Same Bat time same Bat channel."

"Something like that."

He placed his hand on her elbow and they started toward the door. "You know I really wanted that, in theory."

He heard her hair rustle as she nodded, not breaking stride or looking back. "But there's a part of you that thinks, just maybe…"

He kept his gait steady and eyes straight ahead. "Yeah. There is."

Fin


End file.
